The
Belonging
Guide

Building meaningful relationships has always been the position of MRM and MRM Brazil. We’re better together and all differences must be respected. The Diversity & Inclusion committee has created this guide with the purpose of promoting education to everyone and creating an inclusive and diverse culture. We seek to awaken and expand people’s perception, seeing, respecting and appreciating the most diverse particularities, histories and origins, as well as instigate the debate on ways of making our environment even more welcoming and inclusive.

Explore

Social
Classes

What is it?

Brazil is marked by social inequality due to the poor income distribution, lack of opportunities, exclusion and invisibility of certain social groups.

Every day, it’s possible to notice the consequences of these differences through social markers, such as:

Growth of low-income communities.
Food inequality.
Lack of basic sanitation.
Low-quality education.
Unemployment.
Fragility of health and public transportation, as well as lack of culture access.

What should be done?

Disseminate information and encourage people and organizations through education.
Recognize the important contribution and the fundamental role that an organization might have transforming the social reality of many students and their communities through the promotion of work and education opportunities.

Dictionary:

Do not say favelas/slums/ghettos, but communities or lowincome neighborhoods.

Do not say poor people, low-class or hoodrat, but people with access to fewer opportunities.

Do not say marginalized/low-class groups, but groups with access to fewer opportunities.

Intersectionality

Diversity and inclusion

What is it?

Through intersectionality, we have the opportunity to understand better inequalities and overlaps of oppression and discrimination in our society. The term was created by professor Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, who defined the concept as a way to capture the consequences of the interaction between two or more forms of subordination: sexism, racism e patriarchy. Issues of class, nationality, sexual orientation, gender, physical condition, ethnicity and race are used to oppress people. This means that when we have two or more factors, we are faced with an intersection of discrimination, further pushing people away from having access to their rights. Eg: a black trans gay man will be discriminated for being part of 3 stereotyped categories: race, gender and sexual orientation.

The key factor for diversity and inclusion:

Diversity

Concept that comprehends all human diversity and their differences: culturally, economically, socially, physically and psychologically.

In other words, it’s a group of characteristics that makes each individual unique.

Inclusion:

Attention to minoritized social groups, that due to identity markers are not as well accepted and included as others in social spaces such as education, work, health, leisure, etc. In these minoritized groups, we find LGBTQIA+, black people, refugees, women, people with disabilities, fat people and people in situations of economic and social vulnerabilities.

Generations

What is it?

A Generation is born from a group of people who are in the same age group, and so, live the same economic, political, cultural and technological scenarios. The world’s structure of each era drives this group of people to live common experiences, and adopt similar values and behaviors.

This similar set of traits and attitudes is what shapes a generation. When the context changes, the behavioral responses also change.

Who are they?

Baby Boomers (1945-1964 |76 to 57 years old)

This generation is named after the increase of baby births after the end of World War II in 1945. They contributed to the restructure of the post-war world and were the first ones to claim the right to be young, with revolutionary ideas and a collective sense. They were idealists and initiated cultural and countercultural movements. In Brazil, many faced the repression of the dictatorship era. Along with this whole context, the promise of post-war economic stability and the traditional childrearing from previous generations made this generation less prone to change, more rigid and faithful to conservative values.

Characteristics:

Post World War II
Revolutionary movements (sexual freedom, feminism)
A search for work stability and worked towards prosperity
More rigid and faithful to conservative and patriotic values

Gen X (1965-1979 | 56 to 42 years old)

Gen X grew up at a time of capitalism hegemony strengthening and a rise of women at workplace, as well as the rise of marital divorces. This generation has focused its energy at work and believes in meritocracy, leading to an appreciation of consumption, luxury brands, status, becoming the most competitive, individualist and materialist generation of all. It tends to be more conservative and skeptical to political and social changes.

Characteristics:

Grew up during capitalism strengthening period
Rise of women at workplace and marital divorces
Values work, status and consumption
Skeptical to political and social changes, tend to believe more in themselves.
Conservative values

Generation Y or Millennial (1980-1996 | 27 to 41 years old)

Characteristics:

Economic and political stability era
A more globalized world
Easy access to technology
Impatience and immediatism
Questioner
Greater collective sense
Greater collective sense

Gen Z (1995-2010 | 11 to 26 years old)

Grew up in a period of economic instability, but already embedded to technology and for this reason are known as digital natives. Used to electronic devices, received several visual stimulations at an early age, which helped their ability to process information. They don’t see differences between an online and offline world and build relationships through the virtual communities, increasing the references and exchanges of the generation which is more engaged at social causes. Created a new way of communication through memes and emojis and are known as a generation of transparency and truth that looks for egalitarian and collaborative environments.

Characteristics:

Digital natives
Doesn’t see differences between the online-offline world
Committed to social causes
Communication through memes and emojis
Looks for transparency and truth

Alpha generation (2011 and on)

It will be the next Generation at the work place. Totally inserted and adapted to technology, they see technology as an ally to learning and YouTube as a study tool. The Alphas have a high-resolution power and tend to be more transparent at their relationships. They are going through a pandemic during their childhood and adolescence, which limited their personal interactions and could lead to difficulties on their future relationships.

How can I help?

More egalitarian and collaborative environments
Stimulate communication between generations
Be aware about your generation and others’ generation

Characteristics:

Going through a pandemic during their childhood and adolescence that could lead to difficulties on future relationships.
Sees technology as an ally to learn
YouTube is one of the biggest sources of knowledge,information and entertainment.

Ageism

What is it?

Created by the psychiatrist and gerontologist Robert Neil Butler in 1969, the term “ageism” is used to describe the stigmas of any age group, although it’s frequently associated to discrimination against the elderly.

In job market, older professionals face the stigma of being conservative, not used to technology and more fragile about health issues (even more now that they are part of Coronavirus high risk groups). In addition, they are more expensive professionals as they have more curriculum experience.

As society, we are failing to against ageism. Generalizing any group is a guarantee of error. We are plural and nobody should be defined in a concept box. After all, we are still in constant evolution and learning.

Ways to fight against
Ageism:

Benefits of hiring an elderly professional:

Professional experience combined to life experience
Social responsibilities
Commitment

It’s necessary to demystify some topics:

Myths that still have influence in elderly hiring:

Low creativity
Not adapted to new technologies
Problems about doing heavy work

Gender
Identity and
Gender
Expression

What is it?

Talking about gender is not about a male or female denomination. We are far beyond our biological sex, which is the organ and hormones we are born with and/or produce in our body (female, male, intersex). Our biological sex does not necessarily define who we are.

Nowadays the definition of man and woman (binarism) is no longer correct – and it’s a good thing we are evolving and making room for such important conversations, right? Let’s understand a little more about the topic.

Gender

It is a social and cultural construction associated to the biological sex. It is what society expects of what it means to be a “man” or “woman”. But we are what we want to be!

Gender Identity

It is about how each person sees/identifies, whether as a woman, man, queer, non-binary and fluid gender (gender in transit, which can be female, male or neither).

Gender expression

Here is how we show our identity to the world: our way of being, acting, dressing in relation to stereotypes related to each gender. People who do not identify as belonging to one gender exclusively; who do not identify themselves as male or female and are therefore outside the gender binary. This theme goes through several boxes and we need to be aware of it!

Get to know better each one
of them:

Transgender

It is a person that claims a different gender from the one assigned at birth.

Note: the term “transsexual” has fallen into disuse by often being associated to gender transition process only to surgical changes or hormonal treatments, and trans people do not always choose this path. To designate a group of people who do not identify with the gender assigned at birth, “transgender” or “trans person” should be used.

Cisgender

It is the one who claims to have the same gender which was assigned at birth.

Agender or Genderless

A person who does not recognize, identify or feel that belongs to any gender.

“Is it Drag or Trans?”

Drag queen: is a person who artistically expresses themselves with symbols of the “feminine” universe. For example: Pabllo Vittar and RuPaul. There are also those who artistically express themselves with symbols of the “masculine” universe, and are called Drag Kings. It’s about what you do, it’s an artistic performance.

Travesti

It’s a South America term for people who were assigned male at birth but have a female identity. It is essential to mphasize that “travestis” have a female identity, being an insult to be treated as a male. The term “travesti” came long before “transgender/trans” in Brazil in the 1940s when the relationship with marginality, criminality, prostitution began and this population was even seen as sick people, carrying many stigmas to these days. Treating the term “trans woman” as if it was more legitimate than the term “travesti” is erasing the struggle and the history of travestis that were crucial for the directions that the trans movement took in Brazil. Therefore, it became a term of political struggle, a Latin American feminine identity in which the big difference from the term “transgender” is social class and ethnicity. To designate the group of people who do not identify with the gender assigned at birth, use “transgender” or “trans person”.

Social name

Social name is the one chosen by transgender people or travestis according to the gender they identify with, regardless of the name in their birth certificate. The social name can be used, for example, in services in the Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde), known as SUS, for enrollment in the National Secondary Education Examination (Enem) and in bank account cards, payment instruments, relationship channels and correspondence of financial institutions. It is not a nickname, but how a person wants to be recognized socially.

Genderfluid

A person who identifies with the female or male gender at different times in their life and can move between the two genders. Fluid gender is not a mixture of identities, but an identity of its own.

Non-binary

Non-binary people feel that their gender identity cannot be defined within the margins of binarism. Rather than

that, they understand gender in ways that go beyond identification as male or female. Non-binaries can recognize themselves in the feminine and masculine genders at the same time, but also do not identify with either of these two labels, or feel sometimes like males and other times like females.

Intersex

A person who has a variation of sexual characters including chromosomes, gonads and/or genitals that make it difficult to identify as fully female or male (formerly known as “Hermaphrodite”, which is no longer used nowadays).

Be inclusive!

“How do you prefer to be called?”

She / Her – to talk to trans women, travestis, cis women
He / His – to talk to trans men and cis men.
They / It – to talk to non-binary people. They could prefer other

When in doubt, ask! If you’re not sure which pronoun to use for someone, ask the person what they prefer to be called. Always respect the social name of trans people and never ask “what is your ‘real’ name?”. This is impolite and only causes unnecessary embarrassment.

Practice empathy!

All of our lives we’ve been taught what it’s like to be a man and a woman, but we’ve never been asked how we’d like to express ourselves, so we must remember that and evaluate what we say and what we share. Whenever you’re commenting on something or posting on a social network, think about four aspects:

Who you are talking to
What you are talking about
Why you are talking about this
How you are talking about this

It is not because the person is far away that they will not be offended by comments, photos or videos of sensitive content, put yourself in the other’s shoes!

Be inclusive!

Agender or Gernderless

Transgender

Genderfluid

Non-binary

Intersex

Affective-
Sexual
Orientation

What is it?

Attraction, whether physical, emotional or affective, involves several aspects understood in a particular way. These aspects are formed by four elements: gender identity, gender expression, biological sex and affective-sexual orientation. Affective-Sexual Orientation is the affective, emotional and/or sexual attraction that a person feels towards another, which can be of the same gender or not.

Queer

Person whose sexual orientation is not exclusively heterosexual. Most people who identify as queer consider the terms lesbian, gay and bisexual as labels that restrict the broadness and experience of their sexuality. The term queer is also used by some people to define their gender identity or gender expression.

Asexual

A person who has total, partial, conditional or circumstantial absence of sexual attraction. This does not mean that she is unable to have relationships, sex or love someone, but sex is not a reference of desire or attraction. Emotional bonding becomes much more important to a relationship, whether romantic or not.

Bisexual

A person who feels affective, emotional and/or sexual attraction to men and women, both cisgender and transgender. Popularly, the expression “bi” is used to refer to bisexual men and women in a relationship, whether romantic or not.

Lesbians

A woman (cis or trans) who feels affective, emotional and/or sexually attracted to other women (cis or trans).

Gay

Man (cis or trans) who feels affective, emotional and/orsexual attraction to other men (cis or trans).

Pansexual

A person who feels affective, emotional and/or sexual attraction to other people, regardless of sex or gender. Pansexuality is an orientation that specifically rejects the notion of two genders and even a specific sexual orientation.

Gender flags

Queer

Asexual

Bisexual

Lesbian

Gay

Pansexual

Heterosexual

A person who feels affective, emotional and/or sexual attraction to people of the opposite sex or gender.

Homosexual

A person who feels affective, emotional and/or sexual attraction to people of the same sex or gender. The term can be used for female homosexuals - lesbians or male homosexuals - gays.

LGBTIFOBIA

LGBTIphobia is the act or manifestation of hatred, rejection or violence against LGBTIA+ people. LGBTIphobic behaviors are provided in article 2 of Law 7.716/1989, in Brazil, and are recognized as crime since June 2019 by the Supreme Court (STF). In addition to the general concept of LGBTIphobia, there are also some terms related to specific groups, like:

Transphobia

Act or expression of hatred, rejection or violence against transgenders or travestis.

Biphobia

An act or expression of hatred, rejection or violence against bisexual women and men.

Gayphobia e Homophobia

Act or expression of hatred, rejection or violence against gays and lesbians.

Lesbophobia

Act or expression of hatred, rejection or violence against lesbians.

How can I help?

Avoid offensive and prejudiced attitudes, always act withrespect, naturalness and empathy.
Do not use pejorative terms.
Listen carefully to what other people has to say, avoid judgments and giving directions based on moral or prejudiced
perspectives.
Some people are unsure which bathroom or locker room transgenders, lesbians or gays should use. However, they must
use the location according to their gender identity.

Pejorative and offensive terms:

Dyke, lesbo

The correct term is lesbian.

Faggot, faggie, fag

The correct term is gay

Shemale, tranny, ladyboy, dickgirl, chicks with dicks

The correct term is travesti.

Hermaphrodite

The correct term is intersex.

Hermaphrodite

The correct term is intersex.

LGBTIphobic phrases that should not be said:

“Homosexuality is a disease” or “Gay cure”

Since 1985, through the Brazilian Federal Council of Psychology, the country no longer considers homosexuality as a disease or mental disorder.

“Did you have a sex change?”

In addition to being an impolite and invasive question, the correct term is sex reassignment.

“Bisexuality is a fad”

Don’t reduce someone’s sexuality to a moment of “confusion”, “doubt” or tendency.

“Wow, what a waste!”

This is offensive, because it puts heterosexuality in a higher place as if it were really the only “correct” orientation..

Ableism

What is it?

It means underestimating someone’s ability because of some kind of disability. People with disabilities are constantly exposed to this type of discrimination, harming the chances of social equity in the labor market, educational, financially, mobility, health and even leisure access, excluding the community from common routines for the average population that does not have any type of disability.

How do I know when I’m being ableist?

I don’t see your disability.
This person has a disability and looks so happy!
You are so pretty, you don’t even look like you have a disability
Even that person is in a relationship and I’m not
I wish I had your strength to overcome challenges.
If you did it, so can I!
I don’t know what I would do if this happened to me.
God knows what he’s doing/God will help you!
How are you able to do things by yourself?

Some expressions and terms to avoid:

“Crippled or Cripple”
“Person with special needs”
“Retarded”
“Psycho”
“Stupid”
“Idiot”
“Lame”
“Imbecile”
“Psychopath”
“Sociopath”
“Are you blind?”
“Are you deaf?”
“Crazy!”
“Insane”

Fatphobia

What is it?

Fatphobia is the prejudice against the fat biotype that some people have and even the person’s integrity. It’s not necessarily something against the body mass index, but the physical appearance far from the athletic body that some people believe that is the healthy standard.

Fat phobia is the aversion to fat and people who are overweight, making them feel inferior to others. Prejudice, treating poorly, belittling or making an overweight person feel inferior are characteristics that indicate fat phobia.

Effects of social stigma

In addition to diseases associated with obesity, such as diabetes and hypertension, these people face severe social stigma. A scientific journal published this year by Nature Medicine, signed by more than 100 institutions around the world, found that prejudice against obesity compromises health, obstruct the access of overweight people to the labor market and to appropriate treatments, affects their social relationships and also their mental health.

According to psychologist Michele Pereira, coordinator of the Mental Health Center at SBCBM (Brazilian Society of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery), fatphobia reinforces prejudice and suffering of those who do not meet the aesthetic standard.

Fatphobic expressions:

“Next summer I will have my beach body”
“Did you lose some weight? You look so much better!”
“You have such a pretty/handsome face!”
“You’re going to have health issues.”
“You’re not fat, you’re beautiful!”
“You’re so brave for wearing that.”
“You’re really pretty for a plus-sized girl.”

Feminism

What is it?

Feminism is a social movement that fights against gender violence and for equal rights and conditions for women in society. According to historians, it emerged after the French Revolution and gained strength in England during the 19th century and then in the United States in the beginning of the 20th century. This movement fights for equal conditions between men and women, in the sense that both have the same rights and the same opportunities.

Attention:

Femism e feminism are not the same thing!

Femism is the opposite of sexism/male chauvinism: behavior or line of thought according to which women socially dominate men and deny them the same rights and prerogatives.

These are some topics of the feminist movement’s important agenda:

The end of wage inequality (in practice) between men and women.
Equal participation of women in the country’s politics.
Health issues directly linked to the condition of women, such as disease prevention, sexuality discussion and the right to
abortion discussion.
Freedom from the culturally imposed beauty standards
Fight against different types of harassment, such as moral and sexual.
End of violence Against women: relationship violence, sexual violence, bullying, obstetric violence, among others.

Feminism embraces the following groups of women:

Black, lesbians, low-income women, prostitutes, indigenous and trans women.

Dictionary

Mansplaining

It’s the term used to describe a man who tries to explain something to a woman, assuming she doesn’t understand about the matter - implicitly, this attitude underestimates women’s intelligence.

Manspreading

Do you know when men spread their legs when they are sitting on public transport next to a woman? This attitude goes by the name of manspreading, according to the feminist vocabulary.

Manterrupting:

This attitude consists of a man interrupting a woman several times, so that she cannot finish her own sentence. The term became popular after a study at Yale University showed that US senators speak significantly less than their lower-ranking male counterparts.

Gaslighting

The word is used to describe psychological manipulation in which the perpetrator makes the victim question her own intelligence, memory or sanity.

Ethnic
groups

What is it?

Ethnic diversity consists of the plurality of groups whose social, racial and religious characteristics are diversified, with the premise that all particularities are encouraged and respected. Ethnicity is not synonymous of race. The word “race” is not used anymore by the scientific community to refer to different human groups. The ethnicity idea is a different concept from the social notion of race that was used until midtwentieth century and embrace more cultural aspects. An ethnic group shares a cultural uniformity, with the same traditions, knowledge, techniques, skills, language and behavior. Ethnicity researches also considers genetic traits to be ethnics.

Like the Japanese descendants, who feel they belong to the Japanese ethnic because they have eyes that are characteristic of Orientals in that region, or Afro-descendants who identify with African ethnic groups because of physical aspects that go beyond skin color and also go through the shape of the nose, teeth, body structure, etc. Brazilian ethnicities are diverse with direct influence from the immigration process that the country has experienced. Among the types of ethnic groups that make up Brazilian ethnic groups are Africans (Angolans, Nigerians, Congolese, Cameroonians, and others), Portuguese, Dutch, Italians, Japanese, Arabs, in addition to the indigenous natives of our territory.

How can I help?

Respect is essential to diversity. Avoid treating ethno-racial manifestations as something exotic or curious. Prejudiced comments about a certain ethnic-racial group - such as black people being prone to crime or Arabs being terrorists - are classified as racial prejudice or racism and considered crimes provided for in the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988 and Penal Code.

What should I do?

Talk to people from different ethnic groups in order to understand other realities and give voice to different perspectives.
Dialogue with people who are talking or exhibiting prejudiced and offensive behavior.

Refugees,
Immigrants and
Xenophobia

What is it?

First, it’s necessary to understand the difference of refugees and migrants. Refugees are the ones who have left their country by reason of “fear of persecution by any motive of race, religion, nationality, social groups or political opinions”, in circumstances that the person “cannot or do not want to come back”.

Migrants choose to move not because of a direct threat of persecution or death, but mainly to look for a job, education, familiar reunion or any other reason that the person considers that will improve their life quality.

What is xenophobia?

It’s a social phenomenon, the attack or absolute rejection of foreign individuals as wells as their traditions, characteristics or any manifest of external origin. Summarily, it is an attack to the “outside”, of what it is not known or understood, based on despicable arguments, manipulation or ignorance. Any form of violence based on differences in a person’s geographical, linguistic or ethnic origins is considered to be xenophobic.

In summary, xenophobia it is the fear or hate of foreigners, and it is connected to discriminatory acts and behavior and frequently ends up in violence acts, such as different types of abuse and hate speech.

Here are some examples of policies to combat xenophobia against foreigners:

Promotion of a better immigrants’ integration, providing them with the main knowledge that
it is necessary about that society and ensuring that they have access to essential instruments of livelihood.
Co-op between NGOs and government to support immigrants, especially at the first stages, monitoring their situation at the new country.
Banishment of organizations that promote xenophobia, racism and fascism.
Expansion of the number of professionals trained to investigate and prosecute cases of xenophobic violence.

How can I help?

Terms like “refugee crisis” and “migratory crisis” are xenophobic, because they consolidated the perspective that migrants or foreigners are a problem to be resolved. As an alternative, we should refer to the topic as a “challenge” or simply “arrival”, avoiding the negative meaning caused by the word “crisis”. Xenophobia, usually, is directly related to racism, prejudice against someone because of their physical characteristics, especially their skin color. This is noticeable when we witness people from different backgrounds receiving different treatment because of their appearance.

Combating xenophobia requires not only collecting data, which are important in the development of public policies, but also raising awareness in society. Deconstructing negative stereotypes is essential in the quest to guarantee immigrants’ rights.

Credits

Meet our D&I Committee, the amazing people responsible for the creation of this guide:

Cibele Coelho

Media

Bia Loureiro

Creative

Bruna Lira

BI.

Carla Rodrigues

Board of Directors

Dariane Crivillari

BI.

Andrea Barcelos

Account Management

Danielle Menta

Carol Caputo

Rafa Duardes

Creative

Quiti Bezerra

Facilities

Felipe Marques

Planning

The Belonging Guide

Social Classes

What is it?

What should be done?

Intersectionality

Diversity and inclusion

What is it?

The key factor for diversity and inclusion:

Generations

What is it?

Who are they?

Ageism

What is it?

Ways to fight against Ageism:

Gender Identity and Gender Expression

What is it?

Gender

Get to know better each one of them:

“Is it Drag or Trans?”

Be inclusive!

Practice empathy!

Be inclusive!

Affective-Sexual Orientation

What is it?

Gender flags

LGBTIFOBIA

How can I help?

Pejorative and offensive terms:

LGBTIphobic phrases that should not be said:

Ableism

What is it?

How do I know when I’m being ableist?

Some expressions and terms to avoid:

Fatphobia

What is it?

Effects of social stigma

Fatphobic expressions:

Feminism

What is it?

These are some topics of the feminist movement’s important agenda:

Dictionary

Ethnic groups

What is it?

How can I help?

Refugees, Immigrants and Xenophobia

What is it?

What is xenophobia?

Here are some examples of policies to combat xenophobia against foreigners:

How can I help?

Credits

The
Belonging
Guide

Social
Classes

Ways to fight against
Ageism:

Gender
Identity and
Gender
Expression

Get to know better each one
of them:

Affective-
Sexual
Orientation

Ethnic
groups

Refugees,
Immigrants and
Xenophobia